The information requested, from Sandy Key re: Travel Mode ----- Original Message ----- From: "SandKey" <sandkey@worldnet.Att.net> To: <PABEAVER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 11:01 AM Subject: Re: [PABEAVER-L] Travel mode 1850-1870 > My ancestors worked on the railroads from eastern PA to Ohio and beyond. My > great grandmother told of stories of visiting relatives..and the only > transportation she ever mentioned was the rail. > > Here is a bit of the history: > > History of The PA Railroad > through OH > The following newspaper article written in 1949 > newspaper not indicated (possibly Columbus) > > 1849-1949 > > Roots that are deep in Columbus, central and western OH...roots that go back > to the days when rails were oak with strap iron covers...when trains went 10 > miles per hour...when horses were hitched to trains to help them up the > hills...that's the PA Railroad, which has grown figuratively from a tiny > acorn to a mighty oak tree that is one of the communities largest, oldest > and most steadfast industries. > > This month, the PA Railroad celebrates its first centenary, which the > carrier firm has labeled" One Hundred years of transportation progress. > Specifically, the centennial started Saturday, April 13, just 100 years > after the PA Railroad was incorporated by an act passed by the legislature > of the state from which the carrier took its name. > > The beginning of the railroad was a line stretching 249 miles from > Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, a line that eventually grew into a system that is > now 26,000 miles long. There was, at a time, a railroad line connecting > Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and it was the only natural that the PRR's > initial purchase and expansion was this road. > > The first section opened Sept. 1, 1849, a total of 61 miles, from Harrisburg > to Lewistown. Soon after, the company invested substantially in the OH and > PA railroad (Pittsburgh to Cestline, OH); then in the OH and IN Railroad > (Crestline to Ft. Wayne, Ind.) and subsequently, in the Ft. Wayne and > Chicago Railroad. > > Columbus and Central OH's first introduction to the PA Railroad came in May > 1868. Subsidiary lines that were purchased by the "Pennsy" at that time had > been in OH long before that - -since 1832, in fact. That dates marked the > consolidation of the PA with the Pan-Handle Railroad company of PA; the > Holliday's Cove railroad, of West Virginia, and the Steubenville & Indiana > Railroad County. which was amalgamated into the Pittsburgh Cincinnati and > St. Louis Railroad. > > Trips through OH must have been lengthy affairs, with the threshing > machine-like engine puffing along a break-neck speed of 40 miles per hour, > and stopping at every cow crossing. Here's the number of stops between > Newark, OH and Columbus: Newark, Lockport, Granville, Siding, Union Station, > Kirksville Station, Pataskala Station, Columbus Center, Summit Station, > Black Lick Station, Alum Creek Station, Caldwell Station, Arsenal Station > (Ft. Hayes) and Columbus Union Depot. That of course, was before the days of > dining cars, and trains stopped at Dennison, OH to allow passengers to eat. > The Harvey Restaurants didn't function along the PA lines, all of the eating > places being under private ownership. > > In addition to the through line of the PA, Cincinnati and St. Louis > Railroad, the company leased, owned or operated these branch systems: The > Charters Railroad (Mansfield, OH to Washington, Pa) Cincinnati and Muskingum > Valley Railroad; (Dresden Junction to Morrow, OH), the Little Miami Railroad > (Columbus to Cincinnati); the Columbus, Chicago, Indianapolis Central > Railroad (Columbus to Indianapolis)..which also had a direct west branch > which connected to Fort Wayne, Ind.,through Piqua and Bradford, OH; the > Pittsburgh, Wheeling and Kenton railroad, and a line from Xenia to > Springfield, a railroad from Xenia to Richmond, Ind., three Indiana and one > IL systems. > > Its total mileage was 1172 miles. Of course, all of the subsidiary lines > listed above didn't have the new-fangled Pullman sleeping cars (the Pullman > County. was incorporated in 1867) but the main line did, and boasted > mightily about the service. > > That's the story of the PA Railroad in OH. Through its services the owner of > the rich valley lands of the OH Valley were enabled to ship their produce to > the eastern seaboard by a short East-West route, and likewise they could > obtain agriculture equipment made in the East. Local industries along the OH > were able to expand through ease of access to many markets and availability > of raw materials. > > In its service, the PA Railroad has more than fulfilled the purpose and > visions of the Columbus men who were essential in the plans that brought > this mighty rail link through the capital city of the Buckeye State. > > Hope this helps :) > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Carol S." <aceso225@flash.net> > To: <PABEAVER-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 12:25 PM > Subject: [PABEAVER-L] Travel mode 1850-1870 > > > > Can anyone tell me what would be the most common, affordable, mode of > travel, East to West in Pennsylvania in the mid to late 1800's? Would it be > by rail? What if a family was moving and had household goods to transport? > Still rail, or if not, what other modes were available? > > > > Thanks in advance to anyone who has looked into this. Carol S. > > > > aceso225@flash.net > > > > > > ==== PABEAVER Mailing List ==== > > To contact Mark Roberts, Listowner, click below: > > mailto:n0pfy@pclink.com > > > > > > ==== PABEAVER Mailing List ==== > You can unsubscribe by clicking below for the regular list: > mailto:PABEAVER-L-request@rootsweb.com > Click below for the digest list: > mailto:PABEAVER-D-request@rootsweb.com > In the BODY include only one word: unsubscribe > (Please turn OFF your signature file when sending the message) >